Day 335 – May 31 2010 – You sunk my battleship

I had thought much about my 50th birthday over the past ten years or so. I wanted to do something special. I had long thought of taking the whole year off to travel around the world, visiting every continent and hunting waterfalls. As my jubilee birthday came near I knew that trip wasn’t feasible. However, fulfilling another lifelong dream of exploring all the US National Parks my uncle Paul taught me about was possible. I can’t remember a time I didn’t dream of traveling. So I planned to set out on a five month journey in celebration of my 50th birthday, but as the end of my jubilee journey approached I realized I wasn’t ready to stop traveling. Travel has become a way of life.

Friends would say, “I don’t know how you’ve lasted so long, through the bad weather, through the loneliness, how do you do it?” How do I deal with bad weather and bitter cold? I pray for a heated campground or hotel, and if that doesn’t come I pray for strength to endure. How do I deal with the occasional loneliness? I play cards, dice and Battleship over the phone with a friend, have bible study and prayer with my daughter and try to make a friend whenever possible and I listen to music…it sooths the soul. How do I do it, drive hundreds of miles enduring hardships, trusting God for things the rest of the developed world takes for granted such as a toilet, water for hygiene, washing my hair or brushing my teeth, even a place to lay my head at night which I usually don’t know until I get there. But how can I not do this. God has given me the grace to live this jubilee journey, how could I do anything else?

B-4? Are you kidding? You sunk my battleship. But by the grace of God, that’s all that’s been sunk.